Which PSU to get?

orenf

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Sep 25, 2001
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My current PSU is an Enermax EG365P-VE. Lately I have added a second H.D. and some fans and now, my system won't recognise one of the H.D.'s but when I disconnect one of them the other one is working just fine. So I came to the conclusion that I have to upgrade my PSU.
I've narrowed it down to two PSUs, the Antec TruePower 480W and the Enermax EG-465P-VEFCA, both PSUs cost the same. I live in Israel so the variety is some what limited. I can also get a ThermalTake PSU or the Zalman ZM400A-APF. My system includes an Athlon XP Barton 2600+, a Radeon 9800Pro, two H.D.'s, two optical drives, 4 80mm fans, one 92mm fan and one stick of 512MB DDR SDRAM.

I've been reading a lot of reviews and I'm very confused. Can anyone recommend me which PSU to buy?

Thank you.
 
Well if it's any consolation Orenf, it can be very confusing when buying parts. One always wants the undisputed best. With your system, you can get the zalman 400 and be fine. In short, if price is a concern, a 400 Watt PSU from a company like Zalman should suit your needs. All out of the PSUs you mentioned are good choices, with the possible exception of Tt, as you never mentioned a specific Tt PSU.
 
are you sure you have the jumpers set correctly for the drives ?? , may not be a supply issue , the Enermax supplies are decent quality
double /triple check the jumpers
 
Yes, I have all the jumpers set correctly. The system worked just fine in this configuration for the last year. I changed my CPU fan from volcano 7+ to SP-97 with a 92mm vantec thermaflow fan and added two additional vantec stealth 80mm fans and I also started to experience a little bit with OC and than the problem began.

AMD Athlon (Barton) XP2600+
Abit AN7 Guru
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
512MB DDR 400 Kingmax TinyBGA
Maxtor 120GB 7200RPM 8MB Cache S-ATA
Maxtor 40GB 7200RPM
Thermalright SP-97
 
Hi poly4life. I can also get a TT PSU, and in fact they are relatively cheaper than Enermax and Antec. Is there a model you recommend and find it better than the two PSU models I mentioned in my original post?

Thank you.

AMD Athlon (Barton) XP2600+
Abit AN7 Guru
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
512MB DDR 400 Kingmax TinyBGA
Maxtor 120GB 7200RPM 8MB Cache S-ATA
Maxtor 40GB 7200RPM
Thermalright SP-97
 
I just noticed that the Vantec Stealth Power Supply 470W is also at the same price of the Enermax and the Antec and I read some really good reviews on it. Does anyone have any experience with this PSU? Is it any good?

Thank you.

AMD Athlon (Barton) XP2600+
Abit AN7 Guru
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
512MB DDR 400 Kingmax TinyBGA
Maxtor 120GB 7200RPM 8MB Cache S-ATA
Maxtor 40GB 7200RPM
Thermalright SP-97
 
Thank you everyone for you're replies and help. I just wanted to update you that I got a really good deal on the new OCZ PowerStream 420W PSU so I bought it.

AMD Athlon (Barton) XP2600+
Abit AN7 Guru
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
512MB DDR 400 Kingmax TinyBGA
Maxtor 120GB 7200RPM 8MB Cache S-ATA
Maxtor 40GB 7200RPM
Thermalright SP-97
 
I would go with Enermax EG-465P. I have great experience with Enermax PSU. Many high end computer manufacturers use Enermax PSU in their system.